Luke 12:1-34

New American Standard Bible 1995

God Knows and Cares

12 Under these circumstances, after ^[a]so many thousands of ^[b]people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “^(A)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ^2 (B)But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ³ Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ^[c]whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon ^(C)the housetops.

⁴ “I say to you, ^(D)My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ But I will ^[d]warn you whom to fear: ^(E)fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into ^[e](F)hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! ⁶ Are not ^(G)five sparrows sold for two ^[f]cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. ^7 (H)Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

⁸ “And I say to you, everyone who ^(I)confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; ⁹ but ^(J)he who denies Me before men will be denied ^(K)before the angels of God. ^10 (L)And everyone who ^[g]speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹ When they bring you before ^(M)the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not ^(N)worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; ¹² for ^(O)the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Covetousness Denounced

¹³ Someone ^[h]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But He said to him, “^(P)Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “^(Q)Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷ And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, ^(R)you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘^(S)You fool! This very night ^[i](T)your soul is required of you; and ^(U)now who will own what you have prepared?’ ²¹ So is the man who ^(V)stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

²² And He said to His disciples, “^(W)For this reason I say to you, ^[j]do not worry about your ^[k]life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ^(X)ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^(Y)barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add a single ^[l](Z)hour to his ^[m]life’s span? ²⁶ If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even ^(AA)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? ^(AB)You men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not ^(AC)keep worrying. ³⁰ For ^[n]all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek His kingdom, and ^(AD)these things will be added to you. ^32 (AE)Do not be afraid, ^(AF)little flock, for ^(AG)your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

³³ “^(AH)Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, ^(AI)an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For ^(AJ)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.